Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye is a guitarist and writer. As a young musician, he toured and played with various bands and worked as a journalist for American music publications. He met Patti Smith in the record store where he worked, and they started playing together in 1971 — their artistic efforts would bear fruit as one of rock’s most long-lived and influential bands: The Patti Smith Group. Kaye was involved in making eleven albums with The Patti Smith Group, from the iconic Horses in 1975 to Banga in 2012. In addition, he collaborated with many other prominent artists such as Suzanne Vega, R.E.M., Allen Ginsberg and Pussy Riot. He is the author of several books, including Lightning Striking, on the history of rock and roll, which he published in 2021.